Parliament reassembled on Monday. The House of Lords, how- ever,

has not yet applied itself seriously to business. Earl GREY made his first appearance for the season on Thursday, and declared his opinion on the state of the country. His Lordship believes in the existence of great distress, which he further believes to be aggra- vated by the change in the currency ; but he would not interfere with our present money system, except as regards the circulation of small notes. Lord MOUNTCASHEL has given notice of his intention to bring on immediately his promised inquiry into the state of the Church ; and Lord ELLENBOROUGH took occasion to question Lord DURHAM'S right to sit in the House. The House of Commons gave its attention, on Monday, to the Irish Church—to the Irish Vestry Act—and to the proposed changes, or, as the-Attorney-General jocularly terms them, reforms, in the jurisdic- tions of Wales ; on Tuesday, to the Poor Laws Amendment Bill, and to the Usury Laws ; on Wednesday, to the affair of Terceira. Thurs- day was distinguished by -conversations on the Insolvent Debtors Act, and on the claims of the Jews—by a squabble between Mr. DOHERTY and Mr. O'CorirrELL—and by Mr. BROUGHAM'S great motion on Law Reform. On Friday, the Ordnance Estimates were voted.

From this statement it will be seen, that reform of some sort is in every public man's mouth; that the wisdom of our ancestors is losing somewhat of its influence, and the Church some portion of her pre- scriptive right to veneration. If we might trust the professions that meet us in every quarter, abuses ecclesiastical and legal ought soon to become matters of tradition merely. Even Sir JAMES SCARLETT and the Lord Advocate of Scotland are Liberals. The most interesting incident of the week, is Mr. BROUGHAM'S ex- position of his plan of Law Reform. That plan recommends the esta- bhshment of local courts in every county or district—courts some- thing similar to the primitive County Courts of England, and closely resembling the Sheriff Courts of Scotland. Theludge, a lawyer of some standing, should be empowered to decide in all causes where the sum at issue should be not more than 1001., and where the property should not be freehold or copyhold. Appeals should be competent in all causes involving sums greater than 101. to the Judges on Cir- cuit, and in some causes, to the Courts of Westminster ; the oppos- ing parties being entitled, however, in appeals of the latter sort, to double or treble costs. In addition to these County Courts, Mr. BROUGHAM would establish Courts of Conciliation, by the agency of which groundless actions might be prevented.

I. LAW REFORMS. Mr. BROUGHAM moved for leave " to bring in a Bill to establish Local Jurisdictions in certain districts in England." He began his speech by eulogizing the services of the Commissioners who have been for two years engaged in inquiries into the state of the Common Law and Equity. " They brought to the inquiry not only great theoretical learning, but long experience as practical men ; and their second Report, especially, con- tains sumestions well worthy the most anxious consideration. That Report is full of profound thought, and of most ingenious invention (if I may so speak), upon the science and practice of the law; and it has received from the profession at large, and indeed from all who are not of the profession and who are capable of understanding the question, the most unqualified appro- bation. Lwill venture to say, that not within a century and a half has been produced in this country any thing like a document with so much important matter, partly their own suggestions and partly the facts they have been able by evidence to establish. This being my deliberate opinion of the merit of the Commissioners, and of the importance of their labours, it cannot be sup- posed for a moment that I bring forward this subject in any spirit o; hostility. On the contrary, I go hand in hand with them : I. 1.t., up the part of the

question they have left untouched ; and if. ;n the lace, I saw any pros- pect (I mean any prospect within a reisonable . at their inquiries

would be directed to the residue of the subject,- h- i the second place,

that residue were inseparably connected with thy . they have already

discharczed,—I should be at least willing to defer in- motion, if I did not leave it entirely in their hands."

The first great evil attendant on our present sys m, Mr. Brpughts.in proceeded to state, is its expense.

" If a int..;was told that there was a country, in v-1.. , ., in order to recover a debt of 61 nr 71. it was necessary that the creditor iould with the experiditur...,4 604 or 701. of his own money, this ru the 1-isk, accord- ing to the old saying of throwing good money 'arc.- bad,' I think-the man who was at) told would-.t ..oxice_a.r,,per, that whatever other ,,..lvat.tages such a country might possers, it was unfortunate in its ifiteni of taw. . If it were added, that in the same country, after having spent 601. or 704 the adversary of the creditor would have the power of keeping all his property out of his way, so that after his expense, all his delay, and all his anxiet:, it was doubt- ful whether he could obtain a single farthing of his debt,—if, furthermore, it was added, that in the same country, if the debtor were solvent and willing to pay what the law required from his hands, the creditor would receive, it is true, his original claim of 6/. or 71. but not the whole of what he had ex- pended to recover it, by about 20/. so that on the balance he would be some 141. or 15/. out of pocket by success,—the individual to whom this strange in- formation was given, if he supposed it possible that such a country existed, would at least pronounce it to be one of the most barbarous and unen- lightened of the world. That it must be a poor country, he would think quite obvious—of no commercial power—of no extent of capital—of no density of population, because those circumstances would necessarily produce from hour to hour transactions involving important and valuable interests., Never- theless, I need not remind the House (fur every man who hears me or does not hear me must be aware of the fact), that such a country, so unfortu- nately circumstanced, is no other than that in which I now speak—England."

Mr. Brougham then showed, by reference to certain returns on the subject, that two-thirds of the actions tried in this country are for sums not exceeding 501.; and that the vast bulk of litigation resolved itself into actions where the sum in dispute is not more than 100/. He then called the attention of the House to the costs of deciding such cases, as stated in the Report of the Commissioners. These were cases which originated in Lancashire, and were tried in London ; but the expenses would not on the present system have been lessened by trying them at Lancaster. The expense of witnesses would have been as great in the latter case, and the delay much greater. What is the result of this state of things ? "That no man in his senses would think of proceeding in an English court of justice for such a sum as 201. or 30/., or I should say for any sum under 90/. or 501.; and a wise man would almost put up with an extortionate claim to that extent, rather than incur the hazard of resisting it, even though he -might have the plaintiff's stamped receipt in his pocket. If a party succeeds, he cannot gain, and if he is defeated he is sure to be a great loser.'

Mr. Brougham would at once proceed to the remedy. " The great evil arises out of the distance to which parties are necessarily dragged, in order to obtain a decision upon their rights. For many, many ages, it has been the system of English jurisprudence, that justice should be

administered in the centre of the kingdom, or what is politically, though nOt

geographically, its centre. The metropolis has been made as it were the great mart ofjustice, from whence all process issues, and to which all process is returned. The Judge arrives in the provinces once in every half-year, and in the interval no redress can be had. But that is not all ; when the cause is tried the party must go perhaps to the remotest corner of the county where the assize-town is situated, and there he must be attended by his legal

agents, advisers, and witnesses, and perhaps they may be detained during the whole assizes. Witnesses must be paid for their time, and raust,,besides be maintained ; and if an attorney behaves 'shabbily to 1)is witnesses, he is sure, from one or other of them, to pay for it before the' conclusion of the cause. Then comes another stage of the proceeding eqtially attended with expense ; if any point be reserved on an appeal made from the decision at Nisi Prius, it must be discussed in London, and to London the agents must be sent with great delay and a great and unnecessary cost.,", - Mr. Brougham observed that the local courts which he reconi- mended had formerly existed in England, and still discharged their functions with the happiest effects in Scotland.

" I presume I need not remind the House that, however widely our pre- sent systems of jurisprudence may differ—I mean the systems of England and of Scotland—thne was when they were one and the same ; their origin was exactly identical. The best illustration I can give of this is that the pldest laws of both are so closely allied that the distinctions subsisting be- tween them can scarcely be traced. Though proceeding for a long time to- gether, and in close resemblance with each other, and though England may have effected vast improvements, far surpassing any adopted by Scotland, . yet something possessing a good deal of value too may have been preserved in Scotland, which has been lost in England. With all my prepossessions in favour of the law of England, I think Scotland may yet have retained some portions of the ancient system, common to both countries, which we have lost. The Sheriff's Court in Scotland is competent to entertain nearly all ordinary causes of actions—all actions of debt to any amount—actions of damages on almost any cause of complaint—actions of defamation, assault, false Imprisonment, malicious prosecutions, criminal conversation, trespass, trover, seduction, and almost all actions of tort. During an average of three years—the years 1821, 1822, and 1823—there were twentv-two thousand some odd hundred causes tried in the Sheriff's Courts in Scotland in each Year for the amount of 5/. and upwards—exclusive of such matters as bad been tried before Justices of the Peace. Now, taking a comparative view of the property in England and in Cectland, and assuming that the wealth of the one was between six and seven times as great as that of the other, we Should, had we similar courts in England, have had between 120,000 and 130,000 chutes tried in England in the same time. Of the number of actions commenced, not one-eleventh are brought to trial—not, perhaps, 7,000 in 80,000."

The expense of these Courts is trifling. " In a case where the debt may amount to 121., where there is no litigation, or what in this country would be called an undefended cause, the expense is 10s. ; where the sum amounts to 25/. the cost is 15s.; when it amounts to 501. the cost is little more than 15.s. ; and where it amounts to 100/. the cost is only 20s. Even in a contested case, where the matter in dispute amounts tO 14. it may be recovered for costs of 5/. taxed, and the recovering party is only put to an expense or actual loss of 5s.' where the amount is 50/. it may be recovered for 10/. or 12/., with a loss of 10s or 12s.; and even a debt of 100/. without the successful party losing more than 20s. Now, with all my

prejudices in favour of English judicial establishments and the English system of jurisprudence, I must be allowed to say that 1 do envy Scotland the

possession and enjoyment of that tribunal—that diem) and convenient justice. I may venture to call it cheap, when 1001. can be recovered for an outlay of 12/., and an ultimate loss of 20s. I may well call it cheap when in this country 1001. can seldom be recovered without the sacrifice of half the Sum."

Mr. Brougham next proceeded to animadvert upon the folly and cruelty of the doctrine that poor suitors were entitled only to inferior judges. No doubtolCourts of Request did good ; for so precious a thing is justice, th4 slovenly justice is better than the absolute, peremptory, and inflexible denial of all justice.

" j shall now advert to a prevailing error—that which goes to recommend the use of a local appellate jurisdiction ; which I thinda open to this, among other objections, that it would lead to one system of law for one district, and a different system for another. I may here step aside to observe, that 1 wish the appellate jurisdiction received more attention in the quarter that ought to attend to it than I find it does. And I cannot help expressing a desire, with reference to Colonial appeals, that there should be upon the Privy Council some Judges, who, by their knowledge of and residence in the Colonies, had acquired some acquaintance with their laws and regulations, instead of that body, as it now does, knowing nothing of the feelings of the people whence those appeals come. While I am on that part of the subject, I may as well say a few words on the nature of the Appellate Jurisdiction, as it operates on our brethren of Scotland ; who have, in my opinion, very great reason to coin- plain of the practice which sends them, in all cases of the last resort, to the Mouse of Lords in this country. I do think that the anomaly which this Practice presents in the case of our brethren of Scotland—an anomaly which has existed ever since the Union—affords them very reasonable ground of complaint; and the patience with which they have borne the evil of being „ compelled to brine all their appeals in the last resort to this country, and very frequently before men who were not acquainted with the peculiar na- ture of the. Scotch law, on which the decisions of. the lower Court were founded, has always appeared to me quite unaccountable. I can only ascribe it to a concurrence of accidental circumstances. In the first place, there were not many appeals immediately after the Union; and in the next place, there happened at the same time to be a succession of Chanctllors in this country, who, to the very highest fame as lawyers at the English bar—who, to a reputation paramount above that of all their cotemporaries, added that Other most essential qualification, a thorough knowledge of the uature of the practice of Scotch appeals. Such was Lord Hardwicke; such was Lord Mansfield, and after him Lord Loughborough ; and to these eminent men succeeded Lord Eldon,—a man who, besides standing as high in reputation as any English lawyer, as any judge since the times of Lord Coke himself— who, besides being marvellously, supereminently skilled in every branch of English law, added to his extraordinary acquirements that of being prodi- giously learned in every part of the law of Scotland, having actually been employed for full fifteen years of his life in almost every appeal which was beard before the House of Lords. It was to a succession of these great men in England, as Chancellors, that we were doubtless to look, when called on to account for the patience with which our brethren of Scotland have hitherto borne the inconvenience of the system of appeals. But if the time ever came 'when a person should fill the situation of Judge in the last resort, who, tea moderate acquaintance with English law, should gain his first knowledge of Scotch law from being called on to decide on the merits of an appeal from the decision of the Courts of Scotland. then the anomaly would he seen and felt in its full force. I cannot, indeed, avoid—let it give offence where it may—expressing my opinion on this occasion, that the nature of the ar- rangements, with respect to the disposal of Scotch appeals, is a subject infi- nitely worthy of the best, the most serious, and the earliest consideration of his Majesty's Government."

For the attainment of cheap justice in the speediest manner, Mr. Brougham proceeded to say, that no plan seemed so well fitted as the appointment, in each county or district, of a lawyer of sonic standing as judge in the last instance in causes under a certain sum. From his decisions, the appeal should, generally speaking be to the Judges an Circuit, not to the Courts in Westminster ; though, no doubt, there might at times be reasons for not bringing the appeal be- fore a particular judge going the circuit, " I am now giving an outline of the measures which I think necessary to accomplish my object, but I have not yet mentioned the necessity of having recourse to trial by jury. Far be it from me to say that there are not many cases in which the trial by judges might fairly be dispensed with ; but when in connexion With the question of trial by jury, the name of Bar. Jeremy Bentham is forced on my recollection—a man wnose merit as a philosopher and as a benefactor of mankind is above all praise—a man who has the tran- scendent merit of being the founder of all legal reform, and who inust•go down to future ages with the reputation of having been the only great and effectual purifier of our judicial system,—when I pay to him the tribute of my admiration and my gratitude for the eminent services he has rendered to his country and to mankind during the course of his long, laborious, and useful life—(Much cheering),—I may beallowed, without retracting.that praise or qualifying that admiration, to state, that I am far from agreeing with him in the.whole of those reforms which he has at various times proposed. I differ from him in degree, he going much farther in some instances than I am disposed to go. I differ from him also in the kind of reform which he pro- poses, but in nothing more than in that which he suggests with respect to trial by jury. I do not mean to say that he is an enemy to trial by jury, but I think he undervalues its importance in cases to which I believe it to be pe- culiarly applicable. On all points where conflicting testimony is produced— where many witnesses are examined—where a great variety of documentary and parole testimony has been produced—where the circumstances of the case are such, that no direct testimony can be brought forward to show on which .sidelies the truth—I say, then, that in these, and in all the.variety of cases connected With them, trial by jury is of Incalculable value in ascertain- ing to which party belongs the right in dispensing rigid and impartial justice. And I contend, that there were never any means so perfectly well fitted to that end as the assembling of twelve men of various habits—of different de • glees of experience—of different kinds of feeling—of different forms of under- standing, and bringing them all to bear upon the same case; and make their minds, however differently constituted, weigh the nature of the evidence brought before them." Alter some further details of the system which he recommended, Mr. Brougham proceeded to state, that its expense would not amount to more than 120,000/. or 13 0,000/. a-year—a stun greatly less, \lien the difference in the value of money was considered, than France paid for a corresponding mode of administering justice—a sum not ex- ceeding the interest of three weeks' expenditure during the last year of the war. Mr. Brougham then enlarged on the advantages that might be expected to flow from the establishment of Courts of Conciliation—courts in which the disputed matters might be talked. quietly over with litigant parties, and the ruin which often resulted from the recommendations of unprincipled lawyers averted. In con- clusion, he expressed his firm conviction, that local judges would secure to the people of England that cheap and expeditious justice which they would no longer consent to forego.

" Sir, in my attempts to produce some beneficial change in these matters, I have been exposed to two classes of antagonist objectors. By the one I have

been told that the reform I proposed is insufficient, unavailing—that it is merely a mock reform. From others, I learn that what I propose is rashly dangerous—that I am reckless of consequences—that I shall nsk institutions which are the objects of the attachment and veneratien of all good men. deny both the one and the other of these imputations. As on the one hand, I have no intention to confine myself to a mock reform, so on the other hand, I am conscious that what I do propose will not endanger any thing which. deserves to be preserved. I disregard the condemnation of those who do not know my motives ; but, above all, I disregard the base slanders of others, some of whom, I will venture to say, are perfectly conscious of the falsehood of the charges which they launch against me. Because I have not proceeded more rapidly in the course which I have prescribed to myself—because I have not uroceeded in it hastily—because I have not proceeded in it rashly, I have lived to see myself charged with being engaged in a secret and corrupt league with those who are fattening by the abuses which I am anxious to ahate. I have been so charged ! I; who at the very moment when these in- famous slanders were propagating, was refusing the highest official station; and refusing it because I was engaged in pursuits and objects which must prevent the renewal of the proposition—refusing it upon principle—upon political and public as well as upon personal considerations. It has been the lot of all men, in all ages and all countries, who have aspired to honour by endeavouring to instruct or benefit mankind, to have their path beset by real adversaries or fictitious friends. By the one no quarter is shown them ; by the other no kind or charitable construction is put on their actions. They are placed on the horns of &dilemma. But truth will survive when calumny

has had its day. For my own part, I have e with equal indifference the censures of those who have thought me too hot and rash, and the cen sures of those who have thought me too cold and slow. I have felt the jus- tice of the converse of the declaration, ' Wo unto you when all men shall speak well of you.' Whether, however, I may be considered too timid or too adventurous, I shall go steadily forward; pursuing the principles which have been laid down for us by those who have gone before us, and who have left us their example and their success—the one for our imitation, the other for our encouragement ; in the hope that I may be eventually able to establish that local jurisdiction from which I anticipate benefits so important."

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL declared himself willing to support the motion, as far at least as respected an examination of the measure. Mr. FERGHSSON, while he also supported it, could not approve of the suggestion that the Sheriffs in Scotland should reside within their respective counties. If this were to be required of them, the House had debated with bad effect on the Welsh jurisdictions, where the ob- jection was that the judges officiated where they acted as barristers on the circuit.

Mr. PEEL, after enlarging on some of the provisions in his Bill kr the Recovery of Small Debts—a bill which had the merit of origina- ting with Lord Althorp—claimed leave to consider himself as Mr. Brougham's associate in these reforms ; and he accordingly most cheerfully offered him his assistance ; and if Mr. Brougham s bill was found to be such as would enable him to dispense with his own, he would most heartily rejoice in such a conclusion of his labours. (Loud Cheering.)• Lord ALTHORP concurred most cordially in the proposed reforms, and trusted that any objections which might arise against them would not be found insurmountable. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL objected to local courts. The judge could not be a practising barrister, and that circumstance would lessen his value. The system of appeal to the judges on Circuit would, moreover, lessen the local dignitary in his own eyes. A local judge, besides, must be tinged with the partialities of neighbourhood. The learned gentleman concluded with a defence of the present ap- pellate jurisdictions. Mr. O'CONNELL contended, that to attempt to make law reforms, and not to make a code, was like leaving out the part of Hamlet "by particular desire." Mr. C. WYNN observed, that no codification could prevent that evil of what was termed judge-made-law ; for though the clearest rules might be laid down, it was impossible to make them applicable to every case that might arise. Their application must depend, too, on the individuals who administered the law. He was opposed to the establishment of local tribunals ; for he feared the operation of partialities and prejudices on the minds of the judges who must compose such tribunals. Mr. BROUGHAM, in replY, said that his principal difficulty had all along been, the increase of patronage which his system would vest in the Executive Government; but the benefits of the measure he proposed were so great as to outweigh or overbalance the disadvan- tages of such an increase of patronage.

2. IRISH PROTESTANT CHURCH. AIT. ICING presented a petition from the inhabitants of the county and city of Cork, praying for the reformation of certain abuses in the Established Church of Ireland. The petitioners, who were all members of that Church, and admirers of the purity of its doctrines, called upon the House to support and ex- tend the Church's influence, by a more equal distribution of its reve- nues. They distinctly acknowledged the right of the clergy as a body to their property, and they admitted that diversity of orders required diversity of incomes ; but they conceived that the superabundant re- venues enjoyed by some dignitaries ought to be lessened by provisions for the poorer of the working clergy, and for additional clergymen, where they might be required. Such a distribution would, in the opi- nion of the petitioners, prove a remedy for the evils of pluralities and non-residence. They called upon the House to invest the rulers of the Established Church with a power to rid the Church more rapidly than was at present possible, of profligate members. Such persons might, in the present state of the law, enjoy the revenues of benefices from which they had been expelled. The petitioners recommended these matters to the serious consideration of the House.

Colonel BERESFORD begged to observe, that he could not look upon apetition signed by only three thousand out of thirty thousand Pro- testant inhabitants—by fifty-eight magistrates out of three hundred— by one out of seven or eight resident peers—as a petition representing the opinion of the entire Protestant population of Cork. Mr. HUME thought it would have been a more cogent objection to the petition, if Colonel Beresford bad been able to deny its statements, than to cr the very respectable amount of its signatures. He denied that the Established Church of England and Ireland was at all suitable for the times or the country.

He thought the revenues of the Church much too large. The property of the Church was public property, with which the Legislature might deal as it thought proper. If Parliament should, in its wisdom, to-morrow determine that the established religion of the country should be Quakerism, as in that religion there were no paid Ministers, what would then become of the Church of England? As the duties of its ministers would cease, the right to hold the property which they possessed would cease also ; and Parliament might then apply it to any purpose its wisdom might direct. He trusted an inquiry would be instituted to ascertain what number of clergy were really wanted for the Protestant church in Ireland, and that the surplus or useless ones would be dispensed with. He hoped the day was not distant when a proper distribution would be made of the Church property in England, Scotland, and Ireland ; and that his Majesty's Ministers would avail them- selves of the opportunity to correct. the abuses of which the petitioners complained. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was unwilling, at that period, to enter upon a discussion of the principles of the petition ; but he protested against being supposed to acquiesce in the doctrine of Mr. Hume.

He had always held, that evils had grown out of the state of the Established Church in Ireland that required correction. There had been more done within the last few years to place the Church of Ireland on the footing on which it ought to stand than during any antecedent period. There had been, within that time, a desire in all ranks of people, and especially in the Church itself, to remedy those abuses which were admitted to exist, and which owed their existence not to any neglect or fault of the heads of the Church, but to the particular circumstances in which the Church itself was placed. He hoped that this subject would be discussed upon the principle of removing abuses where abuses were proved to exist ; but not upon the principle of condemning the whole body of the clergy because there had been some mem- bers of it who had misconducted themselves—still less upon the principle of appropriating the revenues of the Church to such purposes of their own as. might best square with the wants or the conveniences of the public exchequer

Lord F. L. GOWER protested against interference in any form with Church property. On referring to that old Almanack of which they had occasionally heard so much in that House, he found that there was no instance in which the pro- perty of the Church had been dealt with in the liberal fashion recommended by Mr. Hume, where the property of individuals had been held sacred. If he should live to see the Church property thus dealt with, he should no longer deem his own property safe. Lord OXMANTOWN thought that something should be done to ameliorate the condition of Irish curates.

Sir JOHN NEWPORT begged to state, that as a commission had been appointed, a few days ago, to inquire into Church abuses in Ire- land, the present discussion appeared to him ill-timed and injudicious. Mr. BARING could not admit that Church property was beyond the control of Parliament. He believed that the unequal distribution of its revenues was fraught with danger ; at the same time, he should be sorry to see the Church reorganized on the model which Mr. aurae would propose.. . We had several Bishops in England, who were unable to reside in their dioceses, owing to the want of proper residences within the limits of them, and owing to the insufficiency of their incomes to provide such residences. He happened to know that a most venerable and Meritorious prelate, the Bishop of Hereford, resided, not in his diocese, but at Winchester. The Bishop of Llandatf resided in London, where he held other preferments, from the insufficiency of his income to provide him a suitable residence in Wales. The Bishop of Rochester, whose jurisdiction extended over a large portion of Kent, had an income not larger than many Of 'our parochial clergy, whilst there were bishops of other sees, with incomes so great as to amount to 100,000/. a-year ; or at least with incomes which would reach that amount in a very short time. Dr. LusiiiNGrox declared, that when he balanced the inconve, nienees with the advantages which he saw springing up every day from the existing system, lie was reluctant to disturb the present ar- rangement for any which had yet been proposed in its stead. He explained that the non-residence of the Bishop of Hereford was caused by his extreme old age ; and he denied the assertion that the revenues of some dignitaries amounted to 100,0001.

Last year they had had before them a bill for the purpose of enabline. the Archbishop of Canterbury to raise a sum of money for the repair of LarAeth Palace, and other purposes therein specified. Upon that occasion it was proved that his whole income did not exceed 32,000/. That was the greatest amount of income enjoyed by any English Bishop. Neither the see of York nor the see of Durham was worth any such sum. The revenues of the see of Durham, he was assured upon good authority, had never exceeded 22,000/. a-year. As to the revenues of the bishoprick of London, he must admit that they were on the increase. What might be the consequence of building on the land belonging to that see, he could not pretend to tell, but he was of opinion that the most sanguine calculator could not anticipate any thing at all approxi- mating to such an income as Mr. Baring had just stated, from the buildings which had been recently constructed. Sir ROBERT INGLIS agreed with the learned civilian in the esti- mate which he had formed of the revenues of the different sees ; and declared that the incomes of the Irish Bishops were grossly exagge- rated in popular calculations.

3. IRISH VESTRIES. Mr. O'CONNELL moved for leave "to bring in a Bill to alter and amend the laws relating to Vestries in Ireland." The statute of the 7th George IV. was confessedly most oppressive.

The act enabled Protestants to assess parishes to any amount for the build- ing or rebuilding of churches and chapels, and for the due performance of divine worship.- It also excluded Roman Catholics from any interference in vestries in those matters. lip to the passing of the act, Roman Catholics were only excluded from voting in vestries with respect tethe building of churches, and not with respect to the rebuilding of churches and chapels. The act further gave the Bishop of the diocese power to tax both the Pro- testant and Catholic inhabitants, to any amount he thought proper,- for the building and rebuilding of churches and chapels, and for other purposes connected with the due performance of divine worship. It was unjust in principle to make the members of one reRgious persuasion build churches for those of another ; but in the bill which he Intended to move for leave to introduce, he proposed to make no alteration in that respect. He would leave the Established Church in possession of all the power which they ought to have. All he desired was, to give to every man who was compelled to pay rates, the power of expressing his opinion as to the propriety of their imposition and application. It might be said, that if Catholics voted upon those subjects in vestries, the interests of the Protestant Church would be neglected. He denied that there was any danger of that. If a pertinacious and unjust opposition should be offered to the building or rebuildine.b of a Protestant church, an application for a MaRdCZMUR might be made to the King's Bench, and the whole expense of the proceeding would fall on the party or parties opposing the measure.

The CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER opposed the motion. It was not the practice in Ireland, latterly, to assess the parishioners for building churches ; the funds came from the 'first fruits.

Mr. SPRING RICE wished to see the amendment of the law taken up by the Government of the country, rather than by an individual. Mr. MooRE was convinced that the present measure was but pre- paratory to the assertion of the principle that Roman Catholics and Dissenters should be exempted from contributing to the support of the Established Church; and against such attempts it behoved the House to guard. Sir JonN NEWPORT said he must support the motion,' unless the Government would pledge itself to propose an amendment of the law. Lord F. L. GOWER must oppose the motion. With regard to the particular statute in question, he was not sure that the tone of feeling in Ireland was such as rendered it desirable to deal with the subject at the present moment.

Mr. TRANT expressed some alarm for the ultimate views of Mr. O'Connell. • - He had always said, that as soon as a single Catholic was introduced into that House, that Catholic would attempt to—he did not know how to de- scribe it—(Laughler)—but he believed he should convey his meaning by saying that that Catholic would attempt to undermine what the Catholics called an intrusive church. The people would look at this with great jea- lousy, for the people were not, as many of them were, philosophers. (Laughter.) He thought they ought to look with the greatest vigilance at any proposition with respect to the Established Church, coming from a member of another church.

Mr. PEEL admitted that the Vestry Act required amendments ; but he could not consent to the present motion, or give any pledge on the subject.

For the motion, 47; against it, 177.

4. USURY-LAWS BILL. Mr. POULETT THOMSON moved the second reading of this bill. To the former bill, he observed, it. had been objected, that in respect to loans on real security, a great inconvenience might arise from tying up a party to pay a heavy rate of interest; and secondly, that young men might be led into contracts which would subject them to difficulties during their whole life. By the present bill neither of these inconveniences could happen; for although in the discounting of bills and loans of money, any rate of in- terest might be taken in the case of mortgages and advances upon landed security, not more than the present legal interest could be recovered in a court of law. Mr. HEATHCOTE said, that Mr. Thomson would have done much better if he had gone straightforward to work, and abolished the ex- isting laws altogether, instead of attempting to throw dust in the eyes of country gentlemen. He did not think that at the present time, when the money interest was prosperous, and the agricultural dis- tressed, occasion should be taken to give the former advantages at the expense of the latter. Mr. R. GORDON considered that the bill held out an encouragement to trickery and fraud, by legalizing the lending of money at any rate of interest, and at' the same time allowing the borrower to go to a court of justice and get rid of his contract. Mr. CALCRAFr was opposed to the principle of the bill. Mr. G. ROBINSON should vote for the second reading of the bill, though he objected to the clause which enabled a borrower to get rid of his contract by an appeal to a court of law. Lord ALTHORP could not believe that the repeal of the usury-laws would injure the landed interest. Sir C. WETHERELL could not adopt the principle which some theorists had laid down, that money should be dealt with like any other article of trade or manufacture. If the present bill were to pass into a law, it would render the landed interest an easy prey to every lender of money. Mr. O'CONNELL objected to the bill only because it did not go far enough. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL had at one time been an advocate for the total repeal of the usury-laws ; and he still thought an altera- tion in them desirable. He objected, however, to this bill, because it did not at once say what interest might be taken and what might not. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL thought the bill should fix a certain rate of interest for certain transactions, by which a jury could be guided in their verdicts when such cases came before them. It had always been his opinion that the usury-laws should be repealed, and their repeal he was convinced would benefit the landed interest. He should vote for the bill.

For the second reading, 50; against it, 21.

5. THE TERCEIRA. EXPEDITION. Mr. CHARLES GRANT moved a series of resolutions, founded on papers before the House, condem- natory of the policy of the British Government in regard to the sub- jects of the Queen of Portugal. Mr. Grant observed, that the in- formation already furnished by Government was extremely unsatis- factory. He should concede to Ministers their assumption that this country was in a neutral position; but our neutrality towards Miguel was that of convenience, not of stipulation, while with the lawful Queen of Portugal our relations of friendship had been guaranteed by treaties. It did appear to him that in the whole course of these transactions the same narrow spirit was visible which had for some time marked our foreign policy—the same feeling which had endured the insults of foreigners, and had lowered, in the eyes of the world, the moral influence of England. He would now ask confidently, whether he might not say that Ministers had reversed the ancient and honourable policy of Great Britain? Had they not extended friendship to those to whom it was not due, and behaved with cruelty where kindness was expected? They had treated Don Miguel with every species of consideration short of an avowed recognition of his usurpation, and they had behaved to Donna Maria with every species of neglect and indifference. Lord F. L. GOWER defended the policy of Ministers. He regretted that it had been necessary to adopt such measures ; but Government had no alternative.

It had been pretty generally represented, both in Parliament and else- where, that the acts of Government had recently lowered the character of this country contiderably on the Continent of Europe. A vast deal of igno- rance existed among the mass of the community abroad on the subject of the constitution and forms of this country. He cared little for the erroneous opinions of persons who were unable to maintain the free institutions which they desired to rear in their own countries, as to the policy of England : he cared but little as to what such individuals might think of England for not spending her blood and treasure in their behalf. National gratitude, judging from Continental examples, was a very ephemeral matter. He believed that our hold on the national affection of the Portuguese, if it existed at all, would be found to smell rather strongly of the wine-casks of Oporto.

Dr. PHILLIMORE enlarged upon the law of nations ; from which he extracted many doctrines unfavourable to the policy of our Go- vernment in this matter.

Mr. T. P. COURTENAY WES willing to admit that the affair at Terceira was an untoward event (Laughter); but he contended that it could not have been avoided.

Mr. HORACE Twiss maintained that Britain had acted in con formity with the law of nations. Lord Jour( RUSSELL called the learned member to order for ad- dressing the House from a manuscript. Mr. H. Twiss explained that the manuscript consisted of notes which he had taken in the morning, when he found that he might be called upon to speak. They were very full notes, he admitted. (Laughter and cheers.) But still they could not be called a regular continuous speech, such as he had delivered to the House. The practice of his profession necessarily inured him to ex- temporaneous declamation, and he therefore stood in no need of exculpation from such a charge. (Cheers.) Sir Jardss MACKINTOSH spoke at considerable length in favour of the motion ; which was also supported by Lord SANDON, Mr. Worm, Sir Faarrcis BtranErr, Mr. HUSKISSON, and Mr. STANLEY; and opposed by the SOLICITOR-GENERAL, Mr. CROKER, and Mr. PEEL. The motion was then negatived, by 191 to 78.